


The Night We Met

by TygerRises



Series: Commissions [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Confessions, F/M, Pining, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Reunions, Say Something - Pentatonix/A Great Big World/Christina Aguilera, Setleth, Spoilers for Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Spoilers for Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Spoilers for Seteth/Flayn, The Night We Met - Lord Huron, Yearning, inspired by songs, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:02:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23738020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TygerRises/pseuds/TygerRises
Summary: Seteth struggles with his previous inaction, wondering if life after Byleth's fall would have been better had he never developed feelings for her.His dreams certainly say otherwise.Commission prompt: "Angsty/passionate Setleth reunion after the timeskip please!!! Like maybe they didn't confess yet but it had been slow burn before??"
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth & Seteth, My Unit | Byleth/Seteth
Series: Commissions [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1709896
Comments: 7
Kudos: 98





	The Night We Met

**Author's Note:**

> Commission for @konkonknight!
> 
> Inspired by the following songs:
> 
> [The Night We Met - Lord Huron](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtlgYxa6BMU)  
> [ Say Something - Pentatonix (A Great Big World/Christina Aguilera)](https://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dYlvdLdK9w)

Byleth's teacup rattled against the saucer as it settled, stirring Seteth from whatever stray thoughts that pulled him away from their tea time. It was a common crime, having difficulty focusing in her presence, and while only a small percent of these wandering thoughts were salacious in nature, any distraction was a thorn in his side. The woman he loved was before him, and by the _Goddess,_ he was going to do his best to finally say what needed to be said. Seteth was an articulate individual, but even he found it hard to find the words when she continued to take his breath away.

"... and that was when the Demonic Beast attacked." Byleth watched Seteth's reaction to her telling of the story, suspicious of his dubious attention.

"Ah, yes. And then?" The act of picking up his teacup and sipping masked his trailing thoughts, or so he thought. Byleth was a master at controlling her facial expressions and the passing of emotions. While Seteth thought he was as well, there was no competition.

"Yes, and then we fought it."

Seteth nodded.

"... And then we flew to the moon."

Green hair shuffled as the man's head continued to nod along with the story. "Yes, yes, lovely."

"... and carved Dimitri's initials into the lunar surface."

"Excellently done, Miss Eisner."

He took note: her perfect brows furrowed as Byleth's rigid expression all but hardened. "Seteth, you're not listening, are you?"

Seteth's mind scrambled to find purchase once again, desperately struggling to remember the last detail he'd heard. "Of course. I am listening, Miss Eisner. You just finished regaling me with the tale of the Blue Lions versus a particularly nasty set of Demonic Beasts."

Byleth's mouth opened in defiance, but only for a moment.

 _Damn._ He forgot to call Byleth by her name.

The blood was roaring in his ears, the thin, pressed line of Byleth's lips the only indicator she hadn't spoken yet. His heartbeat overwhelmed his other senses, and he was careful to place the cup down gently to not spill the contents. The tips of his ears burned hot with embarrassment, both first and secondhand. It was like watching a beached fish flounder for air on unfamiliar ground. The struggle was almost sad, and yet, the end was always the same.

Byleth wasn't convinced but was far too kind to put his floundering form on the hot coals. "You seem a bit distracted."

Rather than continue to be beached and helpless, Seteth cleared his throat. "I am, forgive me." While her facial expressions tended to lack the proper ability to emote, her eyes always betrayed her stony visage. Disappointment colored the minty gateways to Byleth's emotions, and it took everything in Seteth's power not to crumble there.

She stood a bit too abruptly. He was unsure how much more of this he could take: anxious visits, meaningful glances charged with hope and longing, pure emotions that could theoretically be penned in a few words. Three. Seteth found himself a master of exposition, the sovereign suzerain only capable of helpless babble in favor of the way Byleth simply made him _feel._ It was entirely too easy to lose himself in the sea of words, barely treading water in a world fueled by the maddening emotions he felt in her presence. 

She was gathering her paperwork now. _Cichol. Do something. "_ I will leave you to your thoughts, Seteth. It was nice seeing you-"

"Wait. Please, sit down. What I mean to say is…" The man inhaled through his nose and exhaled slowly through his mouth. _Do it. "_ You are the source of my distraction. My thoughts tend to wander in your presence, and while it is not entirely fair to you, it has become quite the acrobatic mental routine. For that, I apologize." The heat rose to his cheeks, neck threatening to splotch with a further blush. He rose as well, reaching out for her hand.

It fit perfectly within his, as though they were meant to be.

"This is… entirely too forward and hellaciously unprofessional, but I would be remiss - and it would be a disservice to you - if I did not at least tell you how much I care for you. I believe I have fallen for you, Byleth Eisner."

The words seemed to echo, the white noise of Garreg Mach silent around them as Byleth processed the words. His heart threatened to beat out of his chest, hammering against his ribs like a wild animal threatening to escape. He would be willing to succumb to the beast if it meant he'd get an answer. Yes or no, an acceptance or not, _something_. He waited so long, the yearning building and building until it threatened to bubble over like a kettle. The steam filled his consciousness, rising in temperature until he struggled to breathe. To love Byleth was to breathe fresh air after what felt like eons.

What probably _was_ eons.

Her lips mouthed a single word, testing it on her tongue before he could hear the slightest whisper of a response. "Fall."

Seteth's eyebrow rose. "Yes, it… it is an expression of endearment. The act of falling in-" The man cleared his throat, growing hot under his skin once more. "-love. I fell for you. Now, this does not mean you need to accept my affections, and I am more than capable of keeping a professional distance if these feelings are not shared, but I-"

Byleth didn't sit down. "No, Seteth. I fell for you."

The hammering of his heart ceased for a moment as the two stood, only a table and metaphor between them. When he felt the capability of speech return to him, his voice wavered slightly. "Byleth, are you saying what I think you are?" Surely there was no easy way to misinterpret her - the hours spent reminiscing, wondering, hoping - had they finally come to fruition? Was it that simple? Why had the words been so hard to form prior?

"I fell for you, Seteth. And Garreg Mach. Rhea. I fell for everyone." Byleth's hand within Seteth's warm grip slipped out as a pit settled in his stomach. Something wasn't right. The world seemed to darken around them before Byleth fell backward, hurtling towards the darkest chasms of the nightmare Seteth was trapped in.

This was not real.

Byleth had fallen five years ago.

The woman he loved slipped from his grip and out of sight, swallowed up by the darkness below the cliffside, overshadowed by the cloud of grief that settled in her stead. _No, no, no!_ Seteth awoke with a start, hair plastered to his sweat-slick face. Just as the realization had kicked in while asleep, it began to dawn on him in the waking world, a large handful of salt rubbed graciously into the festering wound.

The hot tears flooded over before he could react, instinctively curling forward to cover his face. Byleth often graced his dreams, but this one had been particularly awful.

Still too fresh.

Another day in hell for Cichol now-Seteth.

\---

No amount of cleaning, however warm the water had been, was capable of washing away the disappointment Seteth felt when he'd woken up. Five years wasn't very long for a being like him compared to the countless years he'd been alive, yet they'd been agonizingly slow in their passing. Restless nights full of regret and pining for an outcome that wouldn't come. If only he could go back - perhaps things would've been different. His tired feet walked as they saw fit, passing through the empty corridors and hallways of Garreg Mach like a specter. A shadow of a man in a shadow of a Monastery. How fitting.

If he had another chance, would he have taken it? Or would he have ignored it completely?

Losing his first love had been devastating, but there hadn't been much time to grieve fully. He had Flayn to take care of, after all. It was hard to explain how this felt similar, and yet worse when Byleth wasn't actually _his_. It was one thing to mourn a love once had, and another entirely to mourn the love that _could_ have been.

So much potential, now rotting in the recesses of his mind, festering into a beautiful flower that could never be cultivated.

What if the seed had never been planted? Seteth could be directing all of his energy to the Knights of Seiros, and to finding Rhea. His nights would be restful, and his days untormented. Life would be completely different.

… and empty.

Empty as the audience chamber he now stood in.

He'd taken his usual spot, per habit - always at Lady Rhea's side. It was a secure vantage point he often used to size up every individual upon approach. Rhea trusted his judge of character, and Seteth could tell a lot about someone merely by how they held themselves. Call it a gift, or call it the art of observation, whatever it was usually was correct.

Until _her._

Oh, how far they'd come from the day they'd met. It didn't take long for things to shatter into hundreds of pieces, and yet… he could _almost_ see her walking alongside Jeralt to speak with them for the first time.

Even now, as he imagined her approaching him, any thoughts of being able to ignore his feelings in the event of a restart were receding quickly. His throat all but closed up, threatening to choke on the memories of her ghost. He'd spent enough time watching her from afar to have all of the details memorized. It took little to no effort to recall them, and yet all the effort to keep his composure.

"You do not… meet people in life by accident, do you?" He eventually sighed, leaning back against the far wall, letting his head thud against it with a hollow sound. From there, he slowly slid down until he was sitting. "Everything and every one serves a purpose, and there is reason in such alignment. You… were no accident, and I am a fool to think otherwise."

There was no answer in the dark hall, only the slight whistle of the wind outside. What was he even thinking?

_It is better to love and have lost than to have never loved at all._

"I am positively tormented by you, Byleth Eisner." Seteth murmured, lacing his fingers together in front of him in contemplation, as if laboring over a puzzle not entirely solved. "I do not know how to proceed." _I am haunted by what could have been, and yet I cannot bring myself to speak it aloud. "_ Five years have not been kind." _Nor are the tortured thoughts of those left yearning for you. "_ They say it is okay to love someone-" _There is no doubt that is what this is."_ -and still let them go."

He was able to do this with his wife.

"But…"

The same hands that fumbled with paperwork for hours at a time, the ones that gripped the Spear of Assal with such authority and power, were the same hands that ran through his hair in complete and total defeat.

Seteth ran.

Ragged breaths came out in gasps as he struggled for air, suddenly feeling overwhelmed in the audience chamber. Even in shambles, the Monastery was somewhere he knew like the back of his hand. Every twist, turn, and hall was mapped in his mind, making it easy for him to make his way outside. Before he realized where his feet were taking him, he was out under a starry sky. The full moon beamed unapologetically, bright light judging him by the long shadow he cast. An even longer shadow than his interrupted his thoughts, causing the man to look up at the pillar before him. Recognition, and then relaxation, crossed his features.

The Goddess Tower. 

He found solace in the shadows, taking comfort in the darkness outside of the prying eyes of the moon. It was a silly thought, and yet, Seteth reveled in the idiotic premise. Whatever got his mind off of _her,_ even temporarily. The crisp night air woke his senses, bringing a chill to his skin despite his clothing.

 _Byleth. Byleth. Byleth._ The name was like honey on his tongue, guarded by the wasps of reality. Every thought of her was a sting on his mind, yet he could not stop.

At one time, all he'd wanted to do was disappear. To take Flayn away from all the tragedy - all the vicious, pointless turmoil - and vanish. It was his answer to everything, to simply wait out a few generations before trying again. Why hadn't he?

_Her._

He had decided by now as if the audience chamber hadn't been significant enough. Five years debating the same question, come to an end. Decided with a heavy heart, if he were able to go back, he'd have only done one thing differently.

_I would have told her._

The sting of loss was worth it.

The agony of separation was worth it.

 _Byleth_ was worth it, and he was a silly dragon to have thought anything but.

The realization was profound, but five years too late.

Seteth's fists clenched as he fought off another wave of grief. Agony. These were emotions that he'd have under control by the Sun's first light, of course. Flayn wouldn't know of his feelings, couldn't know how hard he was struggling. But tonight, hiding from everything, including the moon, he was free to wade into his revelations and suffer through the bittersweet agony they caused, ripples in the once-calm waters of his world. He grappled for the world to change, a fate to be altered, and yet he wished for these things like fishing without bait. No matter how hard he tried, nothing would come of it.

The realization was profound, but five years too late.

\---

Seteth remained outside for the better part of an hour, listening to the sounds of the night and the sound of his breathing. In a few hours, the Sun would rise, and another day would begin where Seteth would be forced to pick up the pieces. Monastery pieces, Rhea pieces, and the pieces of himself that were shattered when Byleth left. While he did not doubt in his mind that his sheer resolve would help solve two of the three problems, nothing healed wounds like time.

He had plenty of it ahead.

A blessing and a curse.

Had he not heard footsteps on the cobblestone pathways near the Tower, Seteth would've mused longer on the concept of time and the healing of wounds. Instead, his muscles went rigid. He cursed himself in his haste; he'd neglected to bring a weapon of any kind. Despite their dutiful sweeping of the Monastery, the occasional bandit would scurry about the rubble. Saint Cichol was no slouch in hand to hand combat, but in this new, desperate world brought about by war, he wouldn't go into any fight disadvantaged if he could help it.

His jaw set as he slowly peered around the wall he leaned against, attempting to set eyes on the possible attacker, thankful for the cover of night and the shadows he wallowed in. Perhaps grief had it's advantages after all, if only temporarily.

 _I have the advantage of darkness, surprise, and intimate knowledge of the Monastery grounds. It will take more than a thief in the night to- Seteth's_ train of thought derailed horrifically, screeching to a halt before falling over on its side as the immaculate visage of Byleth stepped into the moonlight.

Like a thief in the night, she took his breath away, until nothing was remaining within Seteth but love. Love and intense shock.

Another dream.

It had to be.

He'd fallen asleep against the wall outside. It was the only explanation.

_Seteth, stuttering over himself at tea. So many words, and yet none of them what he needed. They felt empty, hollow._

_Seteth, struggling to find the words after a sparring match. So many things left unspoken between the two, crossed blades not enough to convey what he felt._

_Seteth's hand, stalling over fresh parchment, ink dripping from the quill as it remained motionless. A letter never written._

_Seteth's hand, stilled and motionless by his side while Byleth stood with him, next to the glittering pond. Byleth's eyes shone like the stars above them._

Motionless. All these times Seteth had been unable to speak, move, or reach out. Possible opportunities to tell her how he felt and how much she meant to him. All of these opportunities lost, but one remained before him now. Even if it were a dream, he would not make the same mistake again. He would do everything he wanted to do before she fell.

Seteth was unsure what willed him to move and speak, but he thanked the Goddess for the intervention. "Miss Eisner. It is a bit early for a walk, is it not?"

If Byleth was startled by the man emerging from the shadows of the Goddess Tower, her emotionless expression betrayed none of it. It was only when Seteth came into view, illuminated by the moon's glow, that the edge of her lips twitched, curling up ever so slightly. What a beautiful dream this was already turning out to be.

"I thought I told you to call me Byleth?"

Such a legitimate response, Seteth could only attribute it to the many, _many_ times Byleth corrected him. So many, in fact, she'd grown irritated in the process. She rarely showed any emotion, but even the slightest flick of annoyance was enough to send an electric shock up his spine. Byleth just being… Byleth was enough. She approached him, closing the distance to a reasonable level.

"B-Byleth…" For it to be a dream, it felt so real. So real, in fact, that Seteth felt the same struggle he had five years ago. It was almost as if she'd never left, every detail of their past memories just as he remembered. The gentle curve of her cheek, the way the stars shone in her eyes… He couldn't stop his hand from cupping her face in a soft, affectionate gesture. "Whether this is a dream or not, I have done you a terrible disservice, keeping my thoughts to myself, and-"

Byleth opened her mouth to speak, but Seteth pressed a finger to her lips. His mind would subconsciously come up with any excuse for him to not speak his piece. For years he'd struggled, wrestled with his inaction. No more. "Please. Before I wake up, I _must_ get this off my chest." While she didn't seem to understand, Byleth remained silent. Her face was even, though Seteth dared to let his eyes wander back to hers. Was that curiosity that swirled beneath that guarded gaze?

"It… It is said one can love someone and still let them go, and yet I have found myself in the most precarious of situations. I am afraid that I simply cannot. You are the first thing on my mind when I wake up. Despite my best efforts, my last conscious thoughts are of the times we spent together. I miss you, Byleth. Terribly so." His thumb brushed against her cheek, relishing how warm her skin was beneath the pad of this thumb.

He cleared his throat and continued, emboldened as the words flowed from his mouth. Although he was finally achieving his victory, setting his soul to rest after years of his inaction, his face remained stained with a sadness he'd carried for years. "You were not the first to fall. I fell for you, some time ago, and will continue to plummet and scramble for purchase with what memories we do have together. This is not a love born of regret; it was there far before you disappeared." _Despite my best wishes, it will be a love I will carry far longer than I am willing to admit._

"At first, I wondered if I regretted falling for you, letting these unprofessional feelings get in the way of my work, slowly worming their way into my daily life like the gnarled roots of the tree we used to eat lunches under. The price of love is grief, and I was not sure if I was willing to pay the price again, but-" _Damnit, Cichol. Get it together._ His voice wavered, ever so slightly. The back of his throat seemed to grow tighter with emotion. "But I realized that I was willing to pay it a thousand times over. My only regret is that I did not tell you before you fell. I will happily tell your ghost as many times as is necessary for you to feel the love you ultimately deserved. The love I wanted to give you." Finally finished, Seteth lowered the finger from her lips, his hand falling back to his side. It was as if the entire weight of the Monastery, the pile of rubble he and Flayn called home, had been lifted off of his shoulders and chest. He could breathe again.

To love Byleth was to breathe again.

The object of his affections, the beautiful visage before him in every glorious detail he could remember, blinked at him, studying the shell of a man she'd left behind for five years. "You think this is a dream?"

Seteth couldn't help but chuckle. "One of the better ones, as of late. Probably the best."

Her hands rose to cup his cheeks, adding to the heat that already colored them in the darkness. Intense eyes studied him, searching for _something_ beneath his surface. "Seteth…" She started to speak but furrowed her brows almost immediately after. It was something he'd seen before when she didn't have the words to describe or express something. He delighted in assisting her, when able, but she was fighting as best she could. Instead, she stood a bit higher on the tips of her toes to close the distance between them, pressing her lips to his in a gentle kiss.

Everything about her was warm. The hands on his face, the lips against his, the body that had closed the distance between them to press against him. Byleth lacked a heartbeat, but Seteth's hammering heart knocked around wildly for both of them. It was not a passionate kiss, and yet all the breath had been knocked from his lungs. His barriers shook with the simple, gentle act.

This was real, wasn't it?

His stiff hands, stilled at his side like so many times before, slowly rose to rest on her waist. Never would he have dared to hope for such a development. Byleth merely being alive was enough, but this… these selfish desires previously only achievable in sleep had all but rocked him to the core.

_I am positively tormented by you, Byleth Eisner._

Byleth pulled away, leaving a hairsbreadth of room between the two. It was easy to fight off the chill of the night when the roar of his blood coursed through his veins. Every touch set his skin aflame, and every breath shared between them was electric. She tasted like his favorite blend, the same tea they'd shared before the fall. He wanted more. This would never be enough.

When he thought she'd push forward once again, she cleared her throat and whispered. "I'm not good with words, but did that tell you what it needed to?" A baffled Seteth ran a hand through her hair before it settled at her cheek once again, thumb caressing her soft skin.

His reply was hardly audible, a whisper returned at such close proximity. "I… believe you have possibly gotten your point across." Her full smile at his statement destroyed what little barriers, what little defenses he had left. They all but crumbled unceremoniously at his feet as he stood with her, practically exposed and bare for her to appraise. While he was a shell, his love for her made him feel whole once again. Together they would return to their former glory.

Together they would rebuild.

Until then, he would revel in the dazzlingly genuine beauty of her smile. A rare occurrence meant only for him. He would cherish it, just as much as he adored her.

Her hands brushed against his facial hair, thumbing his earlobe idly as Seteth shivered in the night. It wasn't the cold. Byleth's bold nature - something he admired her for - was visible despite the darkness outside. How could she shine so brightly? How could she be so confident in her convictions? Seteth struggled for years. Her purring whisper was self-assured, filling his soul to the brim with heat. "Oh yeah? What does this one convey?"

He was pulled into another kiss, drastically different from the first. It was pure fire, the jolt awakening his senses and surprising him as the woman before him mirrored the pent up emotion he'd been battling for so long. As her tongue passed over his lower lip, he shivered once more and gripped her tighter. Taking it as a cue, Byleth took a step to shove Seteth towards the wall of the Goddess Tower, pinning him between the cold stone and the warm woman before him.

_The best dream._

Her arms wrapped around his neck, urging him deeper, closer, willing him to melt into her. There was nothing he wanted more, tongue meeting hers with meek, then unabashed, enthusiasm. Suddenly the temperature outside meant nothing, his hands squeezing into her waist, gently rising up and down her curves, fingertips eager to memorize every inch of her.

"Byleth-" he murmured between kisses, struggling to find the extra air.

"Yes?" The energy was electric, and Seteth wondered if she could feel him shaking with adrenaline.

"I am afraid I might not be picking up what you are trying to convey." The sentence was choppy, and interrupted often. Seteth didn't mind. "Perhaps you could… explain it to me." Byleth's teeth grazed his lip, and he suppressed a shiver. He could feel her lips curling into a smile against his own as he spoke. "In greater detail."

Byleth's laugh was airy, breath coming out in small wisps in the cold night. It was warm against his face. "Faculty Training so soon, Seteth? Dutiful indeed."

If this was a dream, may he never wake up.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! <3 
> 
> Feedback, comments, kudos give me life. This is the first thing I've written since COVID started, given how busy they have me in the hospital. This just sorta... got way longer than it was supposed to but shootouts to Kon for being AMAZING. <3 Be gentle, I'm rusty xD
> 
> [My Twitter, where you can find more information on how to get your own, or see my shenanigans](https://twitter.com/tygerrises)


End file.
